Reborn, my online friend is the real me.

In mid-March, Su Yu found a senior student from the School of Sound, named Zhao Mu.

Zhao Mu is a well-known tech enthusiast in the School of Sound. He built his own recording equipment and rented a basement near the school to use as a recording studio.

When Su Yu found him, he was in the studio doing voice acting for a male character, working up a sweat.

Su Yu waited at the door for half an hour before Zhao Mu finally came out.

He was short, had a round face, and wore thick glasses.

"Who are you?" Zhao Mu wiped his sweat and looked Su Yu up and down.

"Su Yu, a student from the Photography Department, Class of 04, would like to ask you to help him record a few songs."

Zhao Mu was taken aback: "Photography major? Recording songs?"

"Yes, ten songs, five thousand yuan."

Zhao Mu's expression shifted from confusion to contemplation, and then from contemplation to excitement. Five thousand yuan was enough for him to have two girlfriends.

"What song? Who wrote it?"

"I write."

Zhao Mu was stunned again, this time for even longer.

He hesitated for a few seconds, then finally said, "Okay, let's look at the sheet music first."

Su Yu handed over the sheet music. Zhao Mu flipped through it, his brows furrowing slightly. When he got to "By the Lake Baikal," he tapped his fingers on the sheet music and hummed a few lines of the melody.

After humming, he looked up and his gaze towards Su Yu changed.

"Did you really write this song?"

Su Yu was used to this kind of questioning: "I really wrote it."

Zhao Mu was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Five thousand is not enough."

Su Yu's heart tightened: "How many do you want?"

Zhao Mu held up two fingers: "Eight thousand, ten songs, from arrangement to recording and mixing, I'll handle everything myself. You sing, I'll record. Eight thousand yuan, not a penny less."

Su Yu gritted his teeth: "Deal."

......

From that day on, Su Yu's life became a monotonous routine: going to class, eating, and recording songs.

Zhao Mu's underground recording studio is located in a small alley outside the north gate of the school. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary iron gate. After pushing it open, you go down the stairs and turn two corners before you can see the small room of less than 20 square meters.

The room was crammed with equipment: a mixing console, microphones, monitor speakers, several guitars, and an electric piano. The walls were covered with sound-absorbing cotton, and the air was filled with the smell of electronic devices.

When Su Yu first entered the shed, his palms were sweating with nervousness.

In his past life, he sang countless songs in karaoke bars, always a karaoke king; the recording studio is different, the microphone will amplify every flaw, unstable breath, pitch deviation, unclear pronunciation, all will be recorded, played back repeatedly, and repeatedly whipped.

The first song recorded was "By the Lake Baikal".

Zhao Mu had him put on headphones, stand in front of the microphone, and sing a practice song.

Su Yu began singing the first line: "In my arms, in your eyes..."

Zhao Mu pressed the pause button and peeked out from behind the mixing console: "You're off-key."

"...I know. Let's start over."

On the second take, when they reached the chorus, Zhao Mu stopped again: "You don't have enough breath, you need to lengthen this phrase."

On the third take, Zhao Mu said, "The emotion is off. This song is supposed to be a gentle sadness, but you're singing it too forcefully, like you're arguing."

Su Yu took off his headphones and sighed, "Brother Mu, can you just say it all at once?"

Zhao Mu pushed up his glasses: "You won't remember even if I tell you. Let's sing first, and then we'll talk."

That day, Su Yu spent four hours in the basement recording the song "By the Lake Baikal".

When he came out of the shed, his voice was already a little hoarse.

Zhao Mu handed him a bottle of water and said, "Let's continue tomorrow."

Lu Yang and Wang Boxue reacted remarkably in unison after learning that Su Yu was recording a song.

Lu Yang asked Su Yu, who was humming a song in the dormitory, "Why have you been singing so much lately?"

"I'm recording a song."

Lu Yang paused, pen in hand, and turned around: "You? Recording a song?"

"Yes, I wrote ten songs, had them recorded, and am preparing to post them online."

Lu Yang was silent for three seconds, then said four words: "Not doing your proper job."

Wang Boxue was even more direct: "Have you been blinded by the Golden Bear Award? You're a filmmaker, not a singer. Aren't you ashamed to be a photography student recording songs?"

Su Yu said matter-of-factly, "What's so shameful about it? This is called crossing over into a new field."

"Crossing over? You've gone way too far! From photography to music, there's even an acting department in between."

Su Yu was too lazy to argue with them; he went to class and recorded songs as usual.

.......

Time flies, and it's already the end of April. All ten songs have been recorded.

Zhao Mu spent a week mixing and mastering the audio. Su Yu listened to the final product on the monitor speakers in the basement and almost didn't recognize his own voice.

After the audio editing, the voice is clean and smooth, with all the necessary emotions and no unnecessary flaws.

After listening, he remained silent for a few seconds, then said, "Brother Mu, is your audio editing skill a family heirloom?"

Zhao Mu said expressionlessly, "It's not a family tradition; it's something you learn through practice."

Su Yu specially bought an amplifier, which wasn't cheap, costing over three thousand yuan. He brought it back to his dorm, connected it to speakers, and then, as if holding a press conference, solemnly pressed the play button while pressing Lu Yang and Wang Boxue into chairs.

As the prelude to "By the Lake Baikal" begins, the sound of the piano is as clear as the lake water.

Su Yu's singing voice flowed from the speakers, echoing throughout the dormitory.

After listening to the first song, Wang Boxue's mouth remained agape.

After listening to the second song, "Blue and White Porcelain," Lu Yang pushed up his glasses and said, unusually, "This song is good."

After listening to the third song, "Because of Love," Wang Boxue turned to look at Su Yu with a complicated expression: "Su Yu, has your voice been professionally modified?"

Su Yu blushed and honestly said, "It's been repaired."

"How much was repaired?"

"A lot was repaired."

Wang Boxue nodded: "That's right. If you sang it live, it definitely wouldn't have the same feel."

Su Yu rolled her eyes at him: "Can't you even say something nice to me?"

Wang Boxue thought for a moment: "The audio editing is awesome."

Before the May Day holiday, Su Yu uploaded ten songs to more than a dozen music platforms, including Baidu MP3, Sogou Music, Kugou Music, A8 Music, and Jiutian Music.

When uploading, he listed "Su Yu" as the lyricist and composer, and also listed "Su Yu" as the singer.

He didn't choose a stage name, didn't create any image or promotional material; he just uploaded it without any promotion.

Wang Boxue looked at him. "Aren't you going to find someone to promote it?"

"No need, good wine needs no bush."

Wang Boxue glanced at him, his expression clearly saying, "I don't know how deep the alley is, but I'm not sure if your wine is fragrant."

Su Yu ignored him. He leaned back in his chair, put his hands behind his head, stared at the "upload successful" message on the screen, and slowly curled up the corners of his mouth.

Next, we just wait.

Waiting for ringtone downloads, waiting for copyright fees, waiting for these songs to grow wings and fly into every household.

Of course, it may also disappear without a trace, never to be heard from again.

Su Yu wasn't worried; he understood the value of these songs better than anyone else because they came from the future, from a world he had already experienced once.